Battle Royal (Palace Insiders #1) – Lucy Parker
Published: 17th August 2021
Source: Purchased
Genre: Contemporary romance,
My Rating:
Ready.
Four years ago, Sylvie Fairchild charmed the world as a contestant on the hit baking show, Operation Cake. Her ingenious, colorful creations captivated viewers and intrigued all but one of the judges, Dominic De Vere, the hottest pastry chef in London. When her glittery unicorn cake went spectacularly sideways, Dominic was quick to vote her off the show. Since then, Sylvie has managed to use her fame to help fulfill her dream of opening a bakery, Sugar Fair. The toast of Instagram, Sugar Fair has captured the attention of the Operation Cake producers and a princess.
Set
Dominic is His Majesty the King's favorite baker, the go-to for sweet-toothed A-List celebrities, and a veritable British institution. He's brilliant, talented, hard-working. And an icy, starchy grouch. Learning that the irksome Sylvie will be joining him on the Operation Cake judging panel is enough to make the famously dour baker even more grim. Her fantastical baking is only slightly more troublesome than the fact that he can't stop thinking about her pink-streaked hair and irrepressible dimple.
Match
When Dominic and Sylvie learn they will be fighting for the once in a lifetime opportunity to bake a cake for the upcoming wedding of Princess Rose, the flour begins to fly as they're both determined to come out on top.
The bride adores Sylvie's quirky style. The palace wants Dominic's classic perfection.
In this royal battle, can there be room for two?
Battle Royal was one of my most anticipated reads in 2021 but the world had gone to shit (seriously, why is it you think it's as bad as it'll get and then it gets worse?). I spent a lot of last year and the year before in a reading slump and in the end, I didn't read this, or any of my other most anticipated reads, until long after their release. I was also absent from blogging so I didn't really see the reviews that came out for Battle Royal before I read it. I vaguely remember seeing people talk about it but the reviews didn't stick in my mind so I essentially got to go into this book blind just knowing there were cakes involved and it was written by one of my favourite authors, Lucy Parker. I’m glad I did it like that because I really went in with no expectations and just with the knowledge I’m reading something new from an author I know.
I know this was her first book with a different publisher and one thing which immediately stood out is there was a slightly different vibe to this book than the London Celebrities books. It was still obviously a Lucy Parker book but I think the steaminess levels were lower and it almost felt like this book should have been a spin off of the London Celebrities world but wasn’t. I weirdly expected to have one of her previous characters pop up but they never did, I did finish the book questioning if it had originally been planned to be a spin off but it really didn’t matter, just an idle thought on my part. Even though there was a slightly different feel to her previous books, it felt a bit tamer but it was still brilliant. You still got the same sass and banter between characters and one thing I always appreciate is that you are given a full cast of characters, even the secondary characters stand out and shine and no one fell flat. I definitely want to read more set in this cake baking version of London and cannot wait for the next book whenever that might be.
Anyway, I loved the idea of this book. Dominic was a judge on a baking show, a sort of far more shabby Great British Bake Off style show, and Sylvie was a former competitor on the show. They were opposites in so many ways, but especially in their banking style. Dominic was minimalist and classic with his cakes whilst Sylvie threw all the glitter and colour at her bakes and they sounded fabulous. Since being on the show Sylvie had established herself with her own store, opposite Dominic’s, but what she really needed was the contract for the cake for the upcoming royal wedding to really solidify her place in the baking world and continue to draw customers. The two were in competition straight away and I loved it. Then Sylvie gets to be a judge on the show she was previously a part of, I’m always a fan of characters being forced to spend more time together. There was a perfect balance of banter and competition to grab your attention and it made me genuinely believe they were falling for each other.
The big thing which worried me was that the royal family was featured as part of the story as I hate seeing royals in my romance (apart from Alyssa Cole’s Reluctant Royals), thankfully they were only secondary characters and they were well written but it was the biggest turn off for me here. Surprisingly, I ended up being really intrigued by the dynamic in the royal household and loved how the princess was a total rebel against the royal traditions. I’m looking forward to seeing more of them.
The biggest drawback is I wanted more of the romance. As I said, much less steamy than her London Celebrities series, which isn’t exactly sex on every page, and I felt like we were focusing on the side plots a lot rather than Sylvie and Dominic falling for one another. It was there and you got romance but I suppose that was the big thing I noticed and wished for more of. I’ll still end up rereading this one again… but maybe not as many times as I’ve read Pretty Face or Act Like It.
If, like me, you are a massive fan of baking shows, then this romance will definitely cause a few smiles and have you debating baking something delicious. Just prepare yourself for a slightly tamer romance which focuses a little more on other things than just the couple. It was brilliant and I really enjoyed it and I know there are more good things to come.
Have you read this book already, what did you think? And please tell me your favourite cake because writing this review made me rather peckish, I don’t even talk about cake and the book reminds me of it.
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